Mayor, supervisors reveal details of 405 shutdown

Likening next month's closure of the 405 Freeway to a traffic "car-maggedon," city and county officials unveiled more details Monday of next month's epic shutdown, but said the best option is to simply stay away.

Monday's news conference was the latest installment in a public awareness campaign about plans to close a 10-mile stretch of the 405 from July 15-18 as part of a $1 billion freeway widening project.

A chorus of officials used scare tactics during their presentations, with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa predicting a "traffic nightmare" and City Councilman Paul Koretz recommending that motorists "avoid the area like the plague."

And Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky put a doomsday-type spin on his message: "This doesn't need to be a car-mageddon.

"The best alternative route is to totally avoid the 405 area, completely avoid it, don't come anywhere near it, don't even think about coming to it," he said. "Stay the heck out of here."

The closure of the 405 between the Ventura (101) and Santa Monica (10) freeways will have a significant impact on the San Fernando Valley's 1.7 million residents, severing their main route to Los Angeles' Westside.

Airline passengers who plan to take the Van Nuys Flyaway to LAX should expect "significant delays" and need to plan accordingly.

Transportation officials worry that motorists determined to make their way over the hill will take to the winding canyon roads of the Santa Monica Mountains, creating traffic tie-ups through residential neighborhoods.

To provide other transit alternatives, officials said they'll add buses to the Valley's east-west Orange Line busway.

In addition, Metrolink will add nine more trains to its regularly scheduled weekend service between the Antelope Valley and downtown - a route that has stops in the San Fernando Valley.

"Taking Metrolink is part of the answer to this problem," said Metrolink board chairman Richard Katz, a former Van Nuys Assemblyman who called the pending shutdown the "nightmare on the 405."

To help control traffic, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation will station about 120 officers at key points, while the Fire Department plans to deploy an additional 150 first-responders around the affected area.

Even as officials looked to scare motorists away from the 405 Freeway region, others suggested hosting block parties and other events in local communities.

"You're going to be surprised what you discover in your neighborhood if you take that opportunity," said Michael Miles, district director for Caltrans.

Miles encouraged residents to explore, shop and check out local recreational activities.

A block-party like atmosphere could be led by the business community, said Joe Linton, an organizer for the bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group CicLaVia, who suggests that restaurants offer a "freeway closure dinner special," for example.

"If you take the bus, or bike to the restaurant, you get a discount," Linton said in an interview.

The 53-hour freeway closure is planned so construction crews can dismantle a portion of the Mulholland Drive overpass. Officials plan to use it as a blueprint for planning a similar closure next year, when the northern side of the bridge will be razed.

"We'll see how this one goes," said Michael Barbour, project director for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. "I think we are waiting to see what detours people take, if they really stay home. There are a hundred questions."